The Simpsons come to Universal Orlando! Video Shot with the Rokinon 35mm Cine lens (a review)

As a lifelong Simpsons fan I was thrilled to get to work the opening of Springfield for USA Today! I got to meet my favorite characters such as Homer, Krusty and Sideshow Bob. Working with travel writer Sarah Sekula is always a bonus as she is great on camera and brings so much fun to the set.

For this special shoot, I purchased the Rokinon 35mm Cine lens (Nikon). I shot the majority of the footage with this lens and I can honestly say that I was amazed at the quality. Great color rendition and contrast. I shot the lens wide open to all the way stopped down. It was sharp and solid in all circumstances. I have spent 20 years shooting photos so video is still new to me, however, I can see the huge advantages in using a cine lens over the regular Nikon glass. The still lenses are not accurate when you try to manually focus them, the lens throw is way too short and imprecise. Those still lenses breathe a lot as well (the subject in frame will seem to change in size as you focus). The Rokinon Cine lens has a much longer long focus throw (110 degrees I think) and much, much less lens breathing. The declicked apertures also are a must so you can stop down or open up without any noticible noise or vibration. I will be getting the Rokinon 85mm Cine lens just as soon as I get another video job. I believe that they are a fantastic deal!